PPP - Primer on Presidential Power

It this presidential election weren't so funny, I'd be crying.  But maybe I should cry anyway.   And you can bet a lot of candidate supporters will be crying, no matter who wins the election.  The reason?  I'd say most voters do not understand how government works, specifically presidential power.  So whoever is elected is going to be a big disappointment.

Trump:  "I'm gonna build a wall - a HUGE wall."

 Cruz:  "I will abolish the IRS."

Sanders: "I'll make college free for everyone."

Clinton: “I will rewrite the tax code ... "

Let's look at these statements, shall we?  Not one of these statements is accurate because not one of these promises can be kept without Congress.  Not one.  And voters don't seem to know this!  The statements tell us what the candidates would like to do, but make no mistake about it:  Only Congress can rewrite the tax code - or abolish the IRS.  Only Congress can authorize a way to make college free for everyone.  And there's no way any president can fund the building and maintenance of a huge wall by himself/herself.

A top Republican from Utah (sorry, I can't remember his name right now) was interviewed on NPR several weeks ago and he does not support Donald Trump for president.  He said Trump supporters will be disappointed - and angry - should Trump be elected because ...

1) They will find out that Trump doesn't understand how the three branches of government work, therefore ...

2) That HUGE wall will never be built! Revenue bills originate in the House of Representatives and even this bunch of Republicans are not going to appropriate the trillions of dollars it will take to build - and then maintain - such a wall.

Supporters of all the other top presidential candidates are also going to be disappointed and angry - for the same reason.  Voters don't seem to understand that presidential power is not all encompassing, but they expect their candidates to fulfill every pledge made during a campaign.  Oops.  Big Mistake.

My advice:  GROW UP and LEARN SOMETHING!  If you don't remember your high school government class, then do a brief Google search on the three branches of the U.S. government and find out what each branch can - and cannot - do.  

Maybe you'll realize that who you vote for below President on your ballot is just as important - or more - than the office at the top.

As for President ... vote for someone who can work with others, will represent the United States throughout the world with dignity and competence, and someone understands the value of compromise.

Trump and the Republican Abortion Playbook

Actually, I should probably get out the popcorn and just settle in because it's quite a show!

Donald Trump, Republican front runner for the presidency, said women who have an abortion should be punished.  Okay, really ... that's logical, right?  Trump simply applied logic to the abortion issue as seen by most Republican politicians:

1) Anti-choice advocates want the procedure to be illegal.
2) "Illegal" means against the law.
3) If someone violates the law, society calls for punishment.

or ... you might prefer another version of the logic:

1) Abortion is murder.
2) Murder is illegal.
3) People who commit murder should be punished.

So, come on ... if you apply that logic to abortion, then Trump spoke the truth (for once)!  If a woman has an abortion, she will have violated the law, thus she should be punished just as any other criminal!  And, so should the doctors, nurses, scheduling people - anyone who was complicit in that act.

But, whoa Nellie!  Stop the presses!  Within minutes of Trump's interview being aired, the Republican machine nearly tore itself apart!  Even the anti-choice groups and the pro-birthers went into a panic and started appearing on every cable news program available!  Republican lawmakers who have been passing oppressive restrictions on abortion started hiding under their desks.  And they all, once again, started distancing themselves from The Donald.

Why?  Well, it's really very simple.  And it's all politics.  Republicans KNOW that people in this country - by every major survey and legitimate poll conducted over the last forty years - support keeping abortion legal.  

Republicans KNOW that when anyone starts talking about punishing women, their entire talking point of "protecting women" goes right down the toilet.  And that's what they do, you see ... they say their restrictive legislation is all about "protecting women" and, boy, when they say that, many folks will nod their heads and tolerate the overbearing laws because ... who doesn't want to protect women, right?  But how can you "protect women" and make them into "victims" of abortion, when you punish them for it?

 Republicans KNOW that when you start talking about punishing women for having an abortion, the American public is going to withdraw support.  They KNOW they can't sell restrictive laws to the public if those laws include punishment for women. Big time.  And that means they might not get to keep their elective offices!  Ain't politics grand?

Ah ... good 'ole Trump didn't understand that he wasn't supposed to apply logic to this issue.  And he got spanked for doing it.  Poor Donald ... nobody gave him the Republican Abortion Playbook. Within hours, he started walking back on his statement.  And then he - and his surrogates - started saying the whole thing was a misspeak.  Uh, huh.  Right.  

So ... poor Trump.  But don't weep for him;  weep for American women and girls.  We need to protect ourselves because politicians just aren't going to do it.  At least Republican politicians aren't going to do it.

Time for a BREAK!

Early this morning, I checked into Facebook and found myself immediately starting to frown.  And I realized why:  I was reading about the latest exploits of some Republican lawmakers.  Then I realized that I have totally lost any semblance of impartiality when it comes to Republicans in office.  I simply cannot stand what is happening and my reaction is quite visceral.  

I despise what they are doing to my country. These people are against everything I value:  equality under the law, equality of opportunity, tolerance, inclusion rather than exclusion, separation of church and state.  I have come to believe that some of them are ... well ... intentionally destructive.

Here are just a few examples that I read today:

• Republicans in several states continue to defund Planned Parenthood so that thousands of low and middle-income women do not have access to affordable cancer screenings and contraceptives.
• Raphael Cruz, Republican presidential candidate, is holding up the passage of a federal aid bill for Flint, Michigan as residents continue to struggle with a lead poisoning crisis that was caused by their Republican leaders.
• Two Republican legislators in Illinois want to punish single mothers.  They introduced a bill that says, if there is no father to sign a birth certificate, the state will not issue that child a birth certificate!
• Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire says Pope Francis is the "anti-Christ" because he had the audacity to make comments about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wanting to build walls instead of bridges.
•  A Republican lawmaker in Virginia introduced a bill that would require schools to be certain that children are using the restroom that corresponds to their “correct anatomical sex" ... in order to enforce the measure if it becomes law, school officials will have to check children's genitals before they can go into a bathroom.
• Republicans in several states waste taxpayer money by drug testing people on public assistance, even after every single state that's done it has shown that the number of those testing positive for drugs is way below national average.  WAY below.  
• Republicans in the U.S. Senate are refusing to even consider a presidential nominee to fill the open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.  They say they think the "will of the people" should be honored.  I agree.  The will of the people put President Obama in office for eight years, not seven.
• Republicans in the U.S. House have wasted millions and millions of dollars with the ever-popular vote to repeal the ACA - without having a plan to deal with the millions of people who would no longer have health insurance if the ACA is scrapped.
• The Republican Party of Texas wrote in its platform: "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs ..."  Of course not!  We wouldn't want students to THINK, now would we?
• Kansas' Republican governor has run his state into the ground - even to the point where some schools last year had to shut down early because they ran out of money - and he's following the Republican playbook.
• Arizona's Republican governor slashed public education from kindergarten through college - but he wanted more money to spend on for-profit prisons.  

I can lengthen this list, but the disgust I feel for these Republicans is just too powerful.  I need to take a break from them.   I need to refrain from reading about their asinine and malicious legislation and, in the case of the presidential candidates, I need to refrain from reading about the GOP plans to do even more harm to my country - and to me personally.

Yes, it's time for a break from Republicans.  Maybe if I see rational Republicans standing up against what's going on, I'll feel better.  But that sure as hell hasn't happened yet!  Maybe I'll just have to wait awhile to see if I can view them with a more forgiving eye.  I might be waiting a long time.

News consumers are LAZY!

This is my second post about this topic, but the situation is getting worse ... much worse. 

The more stuff I see on Facebook, the more irritated I get.  And I am not as irritated with the original writer or creator as I am with the lazy, lazy people who just keep sharing garbage - without checking accuracy first.

The original creator has an agenda, usually political or religious in nature.  And many times, facts get in the way of a meme that blasts the president or Islam or whoever/whatever is the target of the day.  It's kinda like Carly Fiorina and her infamous videos - remember?  The videos that never existed, the videos that the creators finally admitted were fraudulent and edited with the purpose of misleading?  Well, Fiorina had an agenda and she stuck by her story to the bitter end.  What she counted on was lazy news consumers to spread those lies ... and they did.

It usually takes about thirty seconds to check a story or a set of statistics.  A Google search will usually give you what you need.  But most people won't take the time and that's because the meme or article fits the reader's agenda, too!  Simple, huh?  Hey ... if you hate the president, then you will be more than happy to share the "news story" about the president being part of a conspiracy to murder Justice Scalia!  Oh, yes ... that started making the rounds within a few hours of Scalia's death - and some of my "friends" are more than happy to keep it going even though there is nothing to it.  Nada. Zip. Zilch.  No evidence of any such thing.

Faking a news story is actually very easy.  I bet you that within three hours, I can buy a domain name, then put up a website with a newsy name and a logo.  I can make up some reporters, write a few stories, grab a couple pictures off the internet, and then share one of those stories.  Let's say I write about a child who was punished at school for saying grace before eating his lunch - he was spanked and made to sit outside in the cold while other children ate inside the warm cafeteria.  Well, you can bet that the "war on Christianity" soldiers would grab that story in a heartbeat and it would go viral in minutes.  They wouldn't check:

•  Source of the story
• Who is quoted in the story
• Location of the story
• Credibility of the publication or reporter

 But spreading that fictional story would fuel their agenda.  They WANT people to believe that there is a war on Christianity and my piece of creative writing would help them do that.

Just do some checking before you post.  And if you do post something that is proven false, then delete it.  That's the responsible thing to do.  When you leave a false story or meme on your Facebook wall - even after it's been proven false - then you let the rest of us know a lot about your character - or lack of one.

Ignorance of the American people

I just ran into an article on Facebook about presidential executive orders ... and the title referred to "King Obama."  Yes, the article spoke to the number of executive orders issued by President Obama and how he had become a "king" or, better yet, a "dictator."

Some of my Facebook friends "liked" this article and a couple even commented about how overbearing President Obama has been.

This shows they do not understand the president's constitutionally-defined duties and they certainly do not understand how our system of government works.  This is just plain ignorance.  They should have learned all this in junior high, high school, or college.  Evidently, they ditched school on those days.  Or maybe their school curriculum simply didn't - or doesn't - include our form of government.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution deals with the Executive Branch of American government.  The Executive Branch ... well ... it's the President.  And his/her duties are to administer and enforce the law.  Presidents can - and have - issued executive orders since the very beginning, and that includes George Washington!  A president may - within the parameters of a law - clarify how a law is administered or enforced.  He/she must stay within the parameters of the existing law, but administrative changes are allowed.  

Let's take a look at the number of executive orders issued by some recent presidents, shall we?  These numbers come from published sources and are a part of the American Presidency Project.

Dwight D. Eisenhower               484
John F. Kennedy                         214
Lyndon B. Johnson                     325
Richard Nixon                            346
Gerald Ford                                169
Jimmy Carter                              320
Ronald Reagan                            381
George Bush                               166
William Clinton                          364
George W. Bush                          291
Barack Obama                            223

Well, let's see ... can my Obama-hating friends still call the President "King Obama?"  I think not.  But they will anyway ... and they will continue to show their lack of knowledge about how the government works and who has been doing what.  Ignorance.  They simply don't know.  Maybe you should tell them?


Data Sources:
• 1789 - 1945 (Roosevelt) data from Lyn Ragsdale, "Vital Statisitcs on the Presidency: Washington to Clinton." rev. ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1998); data compiled by John Woolley, The American Presidency Project; and figures from the National Archives and Records Administration.
• 1945 (Truman) - present data compiled by Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project, from documents contained in the Federal Register.

Do a little research before you post!

Facebook can be fun!  I keep up with friends I don't see often.  I get to share my photography and the fun I have with my dogs.  I can read news from several sources. I can even play games if I want.

But more and more, I find my blood pressure rising to dangerous levels.  Why?

Because people post those wonderful internet memes without checking to make sure they are correct!  It's as though they intentionally spread misinformation. At least one thing is for sure: they don't check before they post.

Here's an example.  A meme put out by some website called "For America" says this:

Students at a public school in California were forced to sing “there is no God but Allah and his prophet Muhammed.” Outrageous! No child should be forced to sing praises to “Allah”!

I went to the website.  That's the entire story ... nothing else.  So, let's just look at what was written and see why red flags should be waving immediately:

1) What public school?  It isn't named and neither is the district.
2) Where in California?  No mention of city. 
3) Nobody quoted.  Maybe a parent or teacher?  How about a principal or pastor?
4) No source listed.  No. Source. At. All.

When I saw the "story" (such as it is), I knew immediately something was fishy so I did some research.  It took all of 30 seconds to find that the story is FALSE.   

There were several hundred comments attached to that meme - folks all in an uproar because they bought into the meme hook, line and sinker.  They didn't bother to take 30 seconds to check its veracity.  And even when someone points out that it's bad information, they won't delete the post. I think I know why ...

They WANTED to believe it.  The reasons?  Hey, I've already done enough ... see if you can figure it out.

President Trump? It's possible!

I can't believe I'm writing this.  But here goes ... 

I get it. I get why Donald Trump's election numbers are going up. And I truly believe he can move his gold bathroom fixtures into the White House. I listened to a single news story this afternoon on NPR and it became so clear to me! Iowans who were interviewed for the piece said Trump tells it "like it is" and "speaks from the heart" and is a "good businessman." And they love him for it because he is NOT like other politicians who lie, hedge their bets, and pander to whoever is in the room.  That is an extreme indictment against those now holding public office, but ... it's reality.  And those in office brought it all on themselves.  You see, sometimes karma doesn't wait until another lifetime.

What those Iowans don't understand, though, is that telling it "like it is" and speaking "from the heart" are simple solutions to extremely complicated problems. They don't seem to understand that the president is only one of 545 people that make up the three branches of government. And that's a low number because I only included the president, Congress, and U.S. Supreme Court.  If you add in judges from other levels, there are more.

The president can't run government like a for-profit business! If he were to do that, you can bet our military would be decimated.  There is nothing profitable about our military's readiness - and the cost of providing what our veterans have earned through their service. A balance sheet for defense ... or education ... or health ... or infrastructure ... yeah, you get it.  Or at least I hope you do!

The president can't "tell it like it is" during delicate negotiations with foreign leaders when finesse and diplomacy are necessary ... and when  you don't know which leader has his hand on the hot button.  "Telling it like it is" may feel good, but when it can send thousands of our men and women into battle ... well, perhaps there should be more substance to the discussion.  Right?

The president doesn't call all the shots and he/she doesn't control Congress or the Courts. The Republican establishment is not about to do everything Trump wants because they know they would never be re-elected if they do.  Stalemate.  Stalemate.  Stalemate.  If you think President Obama has issued too many Executive Orders (and his numbers are quite small compared to other presidents), think of what Donald Trump would attempt!  The man who would be King does not want to relinquish power and yet that is exactly what he will have to do.

Bottom line: Trump would have to give up the very things his supporters like about him in order to get anything done!

Maybe - just maybe - some other politicians can learn from Trump before it's too late and he gets elected!  And there are things to learn:  speak clearly, don't lie to us, tells us what you want to do and give us details because we're not stupid.  And then give us a reason to trust you, because right now ... we don't.  And THAT is why Trump leads in the Republican polls right now. And THAT is why he could be elected.